If your contractions come regularly every 5 to 10 minutes, it's time to call your doctor. Watch for signs like your water breaking or bloody vaginal discharge, which indicate labor might be starting.

There's a big learning curve when it comes to pregnancy. For many expecting parents, just thinking about contractions can be nerve-wracking because they are associated with pain and the start of labor ...

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed new imaging technology that can produce 3D maps showing the magnitude and distribution of uterine contractions in ...

Braxton Hicks contractions, also known as false labor, are mild contractions you might feel in the later stages of pregnancy. There's no need to worry if you experience Braxton Hicks contractions, ...

Scientists, for the first time, have identified a mechanism in the muscle cells of the uterus that could point to how contractions in childbirth grow stronger. It is understood that the hormone ...

Researchers have developed a new imaging tool, called electromyometrial imaging (EMMI), to create real-time, three-dimensional images and maps of contractions during labor. The non-invasive imaging ...

PIEZO1 transcripts in human uterine muscle at term. Green indicates smooth muscle fibers in the uterus, red marks PIEZO1 mRNA, and blue shows cell nuclei. LA JOLLA, CA—When labor begins, the uterus ...

Braxton Hicks contractions are uterine contractions that start in early pregnancy. Most don't notice them until sometime in the second or third trimester – and some women never notice them at all.

Childbirth depends not just on hormones, but on the uterus’s ability to sense physical force. Scientists found that pressure and stretch sensors in uterine muscles and surrounding nerves work together ...

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new imaging tool, called electromyometrial imaging (EMMI), to create real-time, three-dimensional images and maps of ...

Could that weird cramp in your belly be the start of labor—or is it just another bout of indigestion? Maybe it's the real deal, or maybe it's just Braxton Hicks. Can you even have contractions before ...